The 2017 edition of IREP Film Festival promises to be four days of over 40 documentary film screenings, insightful panel discussions, training and workshop, and networking with guests attendance from countries like Germany, United States, South Africa, Egypt, Mali, Ghana, Cameroon etc.

Thematic Notes:Africa has always been faced with a major challenge of connecting the dots in its historical past. A large part of what constitute the verifiable history of Africa’s past today is sourced from the west. The facts of our historical journey are told to us by western imperialists and we simply regurgitate what is made available to us. In an age when even technology looking forward into the past to understand what is most valuable to our humanity, many African societies are shrouded in a blanket of collective amnesia.

Decades after the last of colonized society in Africa has gained independence, the legacy of European dominance remains – we must recourse to Europe to peep a glimpse of African history and cultural properties because they are mostly domiciled outside of the continent. Our history is ours in bits that is allowed to us from the West!

Documentary/documentation films must respond to this, if it must by any chance, put a stop to the tragedy of forgetfulness in Africa. Storytelling is essential to nation building; each cultural property that is locked away in archives and museums in Europe is a repository of our history, journey and insights into what we can become.

Conceived on the traditional thematic framework of Africa in Self-Conversation, the IREP Film festival 2017 will rigorously explore the opportunities open to Africa to bring its historic past into an archival system that is accessible on demand, and most importantly, how we can begin to use these materials to define a path for the future through storytelling.

In distilling the theme, “ARCHIVING AFRICA,” we intend to focus on the core issues of RESEARCH, PRESERVATION, DIGITIZATION, LICENSING AND RIGHTS and DIGITAL REPATRIATION.